Wallet retaining device



Jan. 3, 1957 s. YOUNG 3,295,575

WALLET RETAINING DEVI GE Filed Sept. 25, 1964 INVENTOR.

H. 8 .YO UN G ATTORNEY United States Patent Oil ice ?a :ented Jan. 3, 1967 3,295,575 WALLET RETAlNING DEVICE Harold S. Young, 335 Kimball Terrace, Chula Vista, Caiif. 2010 Filed Sept. 23, 1964. Ser. No. 398,660 7 Claims. (Cl. 156-47) This invention relates to a device for retaining a wallet in a persons pocket or handbag. The hip pockets of many mens garments such as overalls, Levis, riding trousers etc., are usually wide and it often happens that a wallet in such pocket will slide out when the owner bends over or during the jolting motion encountered while riding horseback. According to my invention the attraction of a magnet is used to pull the wallet toward the bottom of the pocket and retain it therein.

If a magnet is attached to the bottom of the wallet near its center and only a single iron keeper is provided at the center of the bottom of the pocket, a strong downward pull is exerted on the wallet if it is put in the middle of the pocket. But if the pocket is much wider than the wallet and the user happens to put the wallet in the pocket near one side thereof, the magnet may be so far from the keeper that insufiicient magnetic pull is exerted on the keeper to retain the wallet in the pocket when the user stoops. It is accordingly a purpose of my invention to provide a plurality of keepers, one on each side of the center of the pocket so that a strong pull is exerted on at least one keeper even though the wallet is lowered into the pocket in an off-center position.

Another object is to mount the magnet or keeper on a narrow band of material such as elastic which can stretch substantially as the wallet is raised in the pocket and will snap the magnet or keeper back against the bottom of the pocket before the wallet leaves the pocket. This snapback action provides a signal to the owner that his wallet is being removed and to be alert for a pickpocket.

A further object is to provide easily attachable means for fastening the magnet and keeper to the wallet and pocket so they can be quickly attached in a factory where the wallet is made or by the owner himself at home.

Further objects will become apparent as a description of my novel retaining device proceeds. For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a portion of a garment containing a pocket with a wallet resting therein embodying the invention, portions of the pocket and wallet being shown in section.

FIG. 2 is a transverse section of a magnet keeper, :1 portion of the bottom of the wallet being shown in phantom.

FIG. 3 shows a portion of a garment containing a pocket with a wallet therein embodying another form of the invention, portions of the wallet and pocket being shown in section.

FIG. 4 shows the same parts as FIG. 3 with the wallet partly raised out of the pocket and the band to which the keepers are attached, in a stretched condition.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the band of FIG. 3 and the two keepers carried thereby.

FIG. 6 is a front view partly in section showing a modified form of keeper and its support and,

FIG. 7 is a section through the keeper of FIG. 6 taken on line 7--7.

Referring to FIG. 1, 10 indicates a fabric portion of a garment which may be a mans coat or trousers containing a rectangular fabric pocket 11 having a bottom portion 12 that closes the lower end of the pocket. The pocket may, for example, be the inside one of a mans coat or the rear hip pocket of his trousers and has a long opening 13 extending across its top to receive the wallet. A generally rectangular wallet 14 of known type is shown in the pocket, the wallet having a rear cover or flap 15 and a front cover or flap 16, the covers being connected together at the bottom by a flexible end 17. Between its covers the wallet may contain money, papers, photographs or any of the other items (not shown) often carried in wallets. The wallet may be made of thin leather, fabric, plastic or other flexible material.

A keeper 18 extends along the bottom of the wallet and is attached thereto by two flexible metal prongs 19, these prongs being pushed through connector 17 and then bent over, as shown, to attach the keeper to the wallet. The keeper may have bent up sides 20 (FIG. 2) to embrace the bottom of the wallet. The keeper is made of soft iron or steel that conducts magnetic flux well but does not retain it so that it does not become a permanent magnet which characteristic is described as paramagnetic, that is, the property of conducting a magnetic flux. Its exposed face may be plated with gold, silver or other noble metal in which the owners initials or name may be engraved.

A bar magnet 21 is supported to contact the bottom of the keeper, the magnet being attached to the upper face of an elastic band 22 by a thin film of adhesive 23 or other known type of fastening means. The magnet is a permanent one of high influx density to exert a strong pull on the keeper and may be made of high carbon alloy steel or an alloy of non-ferrous metals such as Alnico. Band 22 is preferably narrow as, for example, Ai-inch wide and may be composed of soft vulcanized rubber that can be elongated from 300 to 400 percent of its length without rupture and still return to its original size and shape. Or it may be made of woven fabric that has soft rubber threads running lengthwise therein and which permit repeated elongations of the band of percent or more. Each end of band 22 has a thin metal prong 24 of the shape shown attached thereto, one end 25 of each prong being tapered to provide a thin point that can be pushed through the bottom of the pocket and then the entire prong passed through the hole so formed. The prongs are thetn approximately in the positions shown and serve to anchor the ends of band 22 to the bottom 12 of the pocket at its ends.

When the wallet is dropped into pocket 11, magnet 21 pulls keeper 18 down with a substantial force and this pull is sufficient to retain the wallet in the pocket if the owners stoops over and the wallet would otherwise slide out of the pocket. Also the upward jolts that wallet 14 receives when the owner is riding horseback, do not cause keeper 18 to leave magnet 21 even though the middle portion of band 22 stretches up somewhat. The wallet thus remains secure in the pocket. Should a pickpocket attempt to steal the wallet, as he pulls it up, band 22 stretches more and more until the pull is enough to detach keeper 1% from magnet 21. At this time magnet 21 is a substantial distance, for example, an inch or more above bottom 12 of the pocket and the magnet and central portion of band 22 will strike the bottom of the pocket with a force sufficient for the owner to notice. This blow serves as a signal to him that a pickpocket is about to steal his wallet.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, here magnet 21 is attached to the bottom of wallet 14 by two prongs 19 having bent over ends and two spaced apart similar keepers 26, 27 are provided on elastic band 22. Each keeper is some What wider than band 22 (see FIG. 5) and has a slot 28 near each end through which band 22 passes. The keepers are preferably put on the band so that their middle portions 29 lie above the band in position to be contacted by magnet 21 when the wallet is lowered into the pocket. This arrangement holds each kee er in place yet permits each to be slid along the band lengthwise to adjust the distance between keepers. Two prongs 24 anchor the ends of band 22 to the bottom 12 of the pocket. This arrangement has the advantage over that shown in FIG. 1 that if the pocket is substantially wider than the wallet and the owner lowers the wallet into the pocket in an off-center position, that is near one vertical edge of the pocket, the bottom face of magnet 21 will contact the entire central portion 29 of one keeper. A short path for the lines of flux emanating below the magnet is thus provided through this keeper. A strong downward pull is thus exerted on the wallet which retains'it in the pocket. When this arrangement is used in a pocket only slightly wider than the wallet, the keepers may be adjusted on band 22 to bring their adjacent ends into contact with each other. This replaces the air gap previously between them by iron and thus decreases the reluctance of the magnetic flux path thereby increasing the downward pull on the wallet.

As the wallet is raised to remove it from the pocket, band 22 is stretched considerably into substantially the shape shown in FIG. 4 both keepers 26, 27 being raised a distance such as from 1 inch to 1.5 inches above the bottom 12 of the pocket. Further upward pull on the wallet overcomes the magnetic attraction on the keepers and the downward pull of band 22 on the keepers causes them to strike the bottom of the pocket with considerable force, warning the owner that his wallet is being removed. In case bottom 12 of the pocket tends to be pulled up by band 22, this can be prevented by a few stitches of thread 30 passed through bottom 12 near its ends and garment 10. While two keepers have been shown, in a case where the pocket is very wide, as in many garments for hunting or fishing, three or more keepers may be carried by band 22. In an alternative construction, members 26, 27 may each be magnets and a single keeper attached to the wallet as shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a modified form of keeper in which the middle portion of elastic band 22' consists of a thin soft rubber tube 31 of generally rectangular cross section. The tube is filled with a mass 32 of small soft iron particles in intimate contact with each other to provide a path of low reluctance for the flux emanating from the magnet on the wallet. The ends of the tube are closed by a pair of covers 33 that can be attached by adhesive (not shown) or other means. Instead of rectangular, the tube may be of circular or oval cross section. The rectangular section holds a larger number of metal particles close to the bottom face of the magnet and thus increases its pull.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Means for holding a generally rectangular wallet in a persons pocket comprising, in combination; a first metallic member attached to the bottom of the wallet; a second metallic member disposed under and close to said first member upon lowering the wallet into said pocket, one of said members being magnetized to a high flux density and the other member being paramagnetic; a thin nonrnetallic elastic band capable of being elongated at least percent; means connecting the ends of said band to the bottom of said pocket; and means for retaining said second member on the middle portion .of said band.

2. Means for holding a generally rectangular wallet in a persons pocket comprising, in combination: a narrow non metallic elastic band having its ends secured to the bottom of the pocket; two spaced apart paramagnetic keepers carried by the central portion of said band;

and a magnet of high flux density attached to the bottom of said wallet near the middle thereof.

3. A wallet holding means as claimed in claim 2, in which said keepers are of substantially the same thickness and each is adjustable lengthwise of the band.

4. A wallet holding means as claimed in claim 2, in

which each of said keepers has two holes near its ends through which said band passes, the central portion of each keeper lying above the band.

5. Means for holding a generally rectangular wallet in a persons pocket comprising, in combination: a magnet attached to the bottom of the wallet; a thin non-metallic tube; narrow non-metallic elastic bands connected to the ends of said tube, each band being capable of being elongated at least 100 percent; means connecting the outer ends of said bands to the bottom of said pocket; and a large number of particles of paramagnetic material disposed within said tube, many of said particles being att tracted by said magnet in response to the lowering of the wallet into said pocket.

6. Means for holding a generally rectangular wallet in a persons pocket comprising, in combination: a thin keeper composed of paramagnetic material attached to the bottom of the wallet near its center; a thin non-metallic elastic band capable of being elongated at least 100 per i cent having its ends connected to the bottom of said pocket near its ends; and a magnet of high flux density,

carried by the middle portion of said band.

7. A wallet holding means as claimed in claim 6, in which said magnet is adjustable lengthwise of said band.

References (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,795,023 6/1957 Howell 243 3,144,894 8/1964 Young -47 FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. 

1. MEANS FOR HOLDING A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR WALLET IN A PERSON''S POCKET COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: A FIRST METALLIC MEMBER ATTACHED TO THE BOTTOM OF THE WALLET; A SECOND METALLIC MEMBER DISPOSED UNDER AND CLOSE TO SAID FIRST MEMBER UPON LOWERING THE WALLET INTO SAID POCKET, ONE OF SAID MEMBERS BEING MAGNETIZED TO A HIGH FLUX DENSITY AND THE OTHER MEMBER BEING PARAMAGNETIC; A THIN NONMETALLIC ELASTIC BAND CAPABLE OF BEING ELONGATED AT LEAST 100 PERCENT; MEANS CONNECTING THE ENDS OF SAID BAND TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID POCKET; AND MEANS FOR RETAINING SAID SECOND MEMBER ON THE MIDDLE PORTION OF SAID BAND. 